Hi everyone,

I am new here and am looking for buddies. However, I am not looking for people who is on a diet purse, but others who are trying to change their thinking about food and eating and weight. I am preoccupied with weight and food and over the years the preoccupation has completely destroyed the way I should think about food and exercise. As soon as I feel deprived I binge to one degree or another. When I exercise because I have to I don't enjoy it as much. It shouldn't be that way. Food is good and exercise is fun. I have a lot of rewiring to do.

Right now I am trying to teach myself that no food is not bad and I can have what I want as long as I eat when I am hungry and stop when I am full. I am learning how to listen to a part of me that I have ignored for years, my natural appetite. I eat for just about any reason other than hunger, like emotional eating or boredom or because it's "time to eat" but I want to change that.

I am looking for people who are interested in exploring this stuff with me.
Does anyone out there feel this way?

Thanks for listening,
kona

Hi Kona and Welcom to 3FC

I can totally relate to what you are saying. I too hate the word DIET. To me its just another 4 lettered word.
I find that I do much better when I don't say that I'm on a diet.
I have chosen to count calories and exercise 6 times a week. So far that works for me. I am also one of those people that if you tell me that I can't have something, then that is the one thing that I crave. Instead I allow my self to eat most things, but in moteration.
As far as exercise, I think it is very important to find something that you enjoy doing. Try out different things to find out what you like.

Good luck on creating a healthier lifestyle.
You'll love it here a 3FC. Everyone is very supportive and motivating. I have learned a lot in the past 6 weeks.

Feel free to PM me anytime.

Leec

Kona~ I can totally relate to what your saying, I hate dieting and I don't like to feel restricted I wish i could just teach my body to crave the healthy foods other than the junk i usually reach for! I have had a really good start with working out daily and just cutting back foods but i wish i could just learn to love healthy food and incorprate that into my program a little more, If you'd like pm me sometime I would love to explore this topic with ya! ~ Kimberly

Thanks Leec,

Yes, it sure is a four letter word!
Here is my only "rule", eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full. Much easier said than done. However over the last few weeks I have started identifying the signals of being truly hungry (not bored or emotional) and of feeling full. Sometimes I feel full after a lotte and other times it takes a whole meal. My body knows what it needs. I will learn to listen to it better. I just know it will take a lot of time and patients.

kona

Yes Kimberly, it would be nice if we craved only healthy food. You know, I do believe that if we tell ourselves that everything is OK to eat then we start to crave the "bad" foods less and the "good" foods become less of a chore. Sometimes a craving for sweets is just a need for vitamins C and our bodies are craving fruit. Learning to listen to my body and what it wants when it wants it will take time. I'm not unrealistic but hopeful that the signals are there and I will learn to listen to them.

kona

Kona, I agree wholeheartedly with you and will be sending you a pm.

Diet to me is: The usual food and drink of a person or animal. Not something you do temporarily to loose weight. Because the moment you revert to the prior way of eating, you gain back your bad habits and thus the weight. Personally I prefer to make lifestyle changes which are more permanent. Right now I am trying to reassociate snack food as veggies, fruit or nuts all in moderation. Rather than chips or pretzels. Its rather difficut but I am not giving up.

I love your rule. I need to learn that simply because I dont have a firm grasp on portion control. Unfortunately I also suffer from the same need to go against the 'rules' should they be made. When I first started seriously wanting to control portion and loose weight (2 weeks ago) I sabotaged myself for the first week. Everytime I thought about it, I ate. And usually the 'forbidden' items like pretzels.

I would love to buddy up with you on this journey!

I dont diet either. Im tend to be very inventive when it comes to eatting the things that I like that are normally OMG in cals and fat, like lasagna for instance I use FF Ricotta cheese ( cant taste a difference to me), organic pasta sauce ( trying to cut back on my chemicals ), whole wheat lasagna noodles, and a 93/7 lean turkey or chicken. Tastes the same to me, and I have cut cals and fat. I dont feel deprived, I have gotten to the point where I only eat turkey, chicken, and fish. Just prefer it to beef or pork. Im a BIG ice cream lover but the way I curb that craving is sherbert or frozen grapes. Ive done it for so long that I dont even think about it anymore, but even at first I liked it because it tasted good AND I didnt feel guilty about it. I have some good recipes on your typical "bad" foods, so if you ever want to talk about it, just give me a PM. I need someone to talk to also that doesnt do diets, I wont follow some laid out diet, so they dont work for me.

Wow, you've lost a lot of weight! Congratulations!

I agree with you, there are a lot of ways to reduce the unhealthy stuff without feeling deprived.

You'll hear me say that word, deprived, a lot. I believe it to be the key reason why I might binge or crave a food I should not be eating a lot of. As soon as I tell myself I can't have something because it's bad for me, I want it and I want it now. I essentially set that food up on a pedestal when I ban it from my life and quietly worship it day and night. So this is what I do now. If I want something, say pasta, I let myself have some (not a large portion that I would have if I binged) and while I eat it I make sure I am not feeling guilty. By giving myself permission to have it it become just another food and not a something I crave and worship from afar. The key is to not feel deprived or guilty and eat when you're hungry and stop when your full. Every meal, snack, nibble, everyday. Also, understanding that this is a life changing process.

Hi kona,

I totally agree with you. I of course am trying to make healthier choices in general but I'm all about portion control. It is amazing what your body really needs to be nourished, not as much as we seem to think we need. But I have the things that I enjoy just not as much of it. A tip I learned once and that I think has really helped me is that sometimes when we think we are hungry it is actually that we are thirsty and/or dehydrated. So you should drink a glass of water first before doing some munching. Ususally that feeling of hunger will go away. If not than you should probably have some thine to eat.

Hi Kona! I agree if you can do it that way, it's probably best.

I eat too much for the wrong reasons, not because I'm truly hungry. I read about the idea of "eating what you want and stopping when you're full" a while back on the NEDA website. I tried to do it, but I just maintained my weight, with no effort, which isn't saying much at my weight, but I did stop gaining, which is a good thing.

I didn't stick with it long enough to improve my weight problem which is pretty severe, so I decided to try WW for the first time. The thing I've always hated about diets is the guilt factor, "oh I blew it, might as well have some ice cream and potato chips!" and it seems like I was on too restrictive a diet for it to really work long term. Another thing I hated was being obsessed about food all the time because you know you are restricted. It's just not realistic for the amount of weight I need to lose to think I can really only eat healthy foods and very little food for the next TWO YEARS!

I'm hoping the weightwatchers works. I'm going to try to avoid feeling guilty about using too many points, but it will take a lot to get over that hang-up. So far I'm eating what I want and if I work out, pretty much getting the amount I really want to, so maybe it's not too bad.

The thing with me and diets is, I'm either "on" or "off" and when I'm off, I can't seem to eat moderately. Habits need to change. I guess if you start with baby steps, habits really will change and you'll see results! Good luck to you!

I think all of you have some very interesting ideals. I don't diet any more either. A "diet" is something you go on intill you lose the weight and then you go back to eting "normal". I don't diet, I eat healthy. I eat for noruishment and enjoyment. Food is ment to be enjoyed. One thing I do now is, I take a small portion of something and if I don't really like it, I don't eat it! It's not worth the calories!

You ladies are so inspirational!

Two years ago, I went on a strict diet and went from 220 to 147. I worked so hard! In January, I found myself again at 220. Amazing that it suprised me!! At any rate, I have made only a couple rules for myself:

1. Exercise 30 minutes a day at least 6 times a week, even if its a snails pace.
2. Leave food on my plate.
3. Focus for 21 days at a time.

Diet is a 4-letter-word to me as well. I feel more in control of myself because I am not focused on what the scale is telling me. I have to admit, however, that I am still weighing myself; it's a horribly hard habit to break!

Yeah I agree Diet is a four letter word that haunts me...I could use some help also

I have to say that I agree with you all. I did all the dieting I want to do when I was in high school. I just gave up after high school and didn't think about it again. I knew though that I didn' want to go into that cycle again, so I'm trying to change my lifestyle. The exercise I have done okay, I exercise everyday, do at least something. It's the food aspect I'm having more trouble with and I don't believe in following a diet, I want to eat what I want but know when to quit, know when I'm full. So I'd like to join you ladies.

This may sound silly, but I got new dinnerware. The bowls and plates are about half the size and I allow myself to fill it all the way up, but I have to leave some in the bottom. It gives me a better visual than when my big bowl is only half full. I realize that I am going to have to work on that as well, but I can only handle one thing at a time!